Tips to Keep Your Car Safe from Thieves

Although it has dropped in recent years, car theft rates still mean sleepless nights for owners, especially when it comes to older models . According to statistics, historically, Spain occupies the third place in the highest vehicle theft rate in Europe , only behind Italy and the United Kingdom. The Ministry of the Interior, in fact, estimates that more than 100 vehicles are stolen every day.


No one wants their car stolen, but sometimes the unthinkable happens no matter how careful you are. Today's cars have smart theft protection built in, such as the immobilizer, which prevents the engine from being started without the original key nearby. However, you should keep in mind that thieves are resourceful, hard-working, and seasoned people , so they always have ideas on how to bypass car theft protection features.


Sometimes they are helped by the car manufacturers themselves, especially when the aforementioned has a keyless access system that is easy to defeat. What you need to do is make the crooks' job as difficult as possible, and also make it obvious , so they give up and find another victim who is easier to hack. That's why this article is going to put more emphasis on the most important steps you can take to keep your vehicle safe.


Of course, the easiest of all is to keep your car keys in a safe place . This means leaving them away from the front door to prevent theft of it. This also makes it more difficult for the thief to break into your house and snatch it from you in a hurry without you even noticing. To be more secure, put the keys in a tin box , which is also responsible for blocking the radio signals that these mobile devices emit; remember that it is not a “normal” key.


On the other hand, you have to keep the car windows completely closed when you are not in it , even if you are in the middle of a hot summer day. This will reduce the chance of thieves prying open the window to get into your vehicle. An open window is also a tempting opportunity for a thief, almost as much as leaving your car with the keys in it. The more airtight everything is whenever you're not around to see it, the better.


Logically, there is no point in locking the windows if the vehicle doors remain open. Your duty as a car owner is to make sure that the doors are closed at all times , even when you are in the car driving within the city; you don't know how many times some criminal has tried to rob a vehicle with the driver inside it. Open doors are like an open invitation to thieves, just like you doing half their job.


You must develop the habit of leaving the car in gear (or in the “P” position if it is an automatic) and with the wheels pointed towards the curb . Additional benefits of making use of this measure, other than the vehicle being more difficult to tow, prevents the car from moving when hit or when parked on a slope. Because of course parking in a secure spot goes a long way, and nothing deters thieves better than a well-lit and guarded spot.


Garages and private parking are even better, but harder to come by. It's not such a bad idea to use a steering wheel lock (commonly known as a “dog”) to immobilize your car. Make it as visible as possible and thieves will look the other way. This is because getting rid of one of those is incredibly difficult and time consuming, so it's simply not worth the effort.


This may seem like a no-brainer, but you should never leave valuables out in the open . Even if it's worthless, don't count on the thief to do the math. It's best to store everything in the trunk, even if it's just a jacket.


Last but not least, consider using a tracking device to locate your car in the unfortunate event of theft, as many smartphones offer . This won't stop thieves from stealing it, of course, but it will give you a better chance of getting the car back. Without a tracking device, it is much more difficult for authorities to locate your missing vehicle.


As you can imagine, these tips are only good if you drive a normal car, with a moderate value . Thieves will spare no effort if the value of the car is high enough to justify the efforts and they have pinpointed it on you. In this case, it only helps to have good insurance. Because, as it was said in the house of a server, all precaution is little, but if someone wants to steal from you, it is most likely that they will succeed. It's up to you how hard you make it.